‘Online gambling companies will have to change their “unfair” sign-up deals or face a legal challenge after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it was launching enforcement action against operators that it believes to be breaking consumer law.’

‘The number of suspected cases of pension fraud reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has dramatically decreased over the past two years, even as the value of individual cases has soared, according to figures from the City of London Police.’

‘Last Friday the CAT handed down a judgment on the first ever-application for a collective proceedings order under the new regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The judgment will generally be welcomed by potential claimants, but it has a sting in the tail which may cause serious difficulties for class actions in other vertical infringement cases.’

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (‘CAT’) gave judgment on 31 March 2017 on the first ever application for a Collective Proceedings Order under the new competition damages collective action procedures introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.’

‘In the light of Brexit, uncertain times lie ahead! How can small businesses cope with the challenges which the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will necessarily entail and with the uncertainty that will persist so long as no concluded agreement(s) has/have been struck between the British Government and its EU counterparts.’

‘Touts who use computer software to harvest concert tickets in bulk and resell them at vast mark-ups face unlimited fines as part of a crackdown on highly profitable resale sites such as Viagogo, StubHub and GetMeIn.’

‘A short-term promotion for the sale of Apple Watch devices at a discounted price breached UK advertising rules because the promotion was not fair and resulted in “unnecessary disappointment” for consumers, the UK’s advertising watchdog has said.’

‘Ofcom has slammed telecom providers for offering landline-only customers poor value for money, as it unveiled plans to force BT, the dominant provider, to cut bills by at least £5 a month, benefiting about 2.3 million people.’

‘New guidance on price promotions has been issued by the UK Chartered Trading Standards Institute to replace the previous Pricing Practices Guide by BIS (now merged into the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy). The guidance applies to all consumer sales of goods, services and digital content, and includes online transactions as well as those in retail premises. Enforcers are likely to allow traders until April 2017 to bring their practices into line with the guidance.’

‘3D printing is moving from a narrow role as a prototyping technology to offer an exciting new spectrum of possibilities. From home printing for the consumer to high-end manufactured products in applications ranging from aerospace and automotive parts, medical and dental prostheses to fine arts and jewellery, the possibilities are widening all the time. Uniting digital manipulation with additive manufacturing, 3D printing offers huge potential for many sectors, with even digitally printed foods now being explored.’